MIAMI (WSVN) - Seventeen Cuban migrants who fought hard to make it to South Florida are finally having their case heard in court.
A U.S. court of appeals heard arguments in the case of the so-called “Lighthouse Cubans” in a Downtown Miami courtroom, Tuesday.
Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Democracy Movement, attended the hearing. He has been fighting on behalf of the migrants ever since they arrived by boat in the Lower Keys, in May 2016.
“I feel we had a fair chance today of a very professional board of three judges, and we’re just going to wait for the outcome,” he said. “Whichever way it goes, We’re grateful to live in a country where citizens can bring a case like this on behalf of people who are seeking freedom.”
The Cubans scaled the American Shoal Lighthouse, off Sugarloaf Key, and they argue they reached dry land because the lighthouse is U.S. property. A federal judge in Miami did not agree, however.
The migrants are currently in Australia, where they were granted asylum. It could take weeks, or even months, until the judges reach a decision.
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